The H in Hart and Hunter, Heart and Art
by Ember411
Summary: A different take on "Girl Meets Maya's Mother." Rated K for kid friendly, with minor adult-like behavior.
1. Art Class

**Yey! So I love _Girl Meets World _and I am so happy they got renewed for Season 2! I love it! I love how similar it is to _Boy Meets World _but at the same time it is different. I love all the kids and love Cory as their teacher (I screamed in bliss when I saw Feeney in the first episode, near the end)  
**

**So anyways, when I read the preview for _Girl Meets Maya's Mother _and when I read that an old friend of theirs was coming to visit, I thought of Shawn, but instead it was someone else. So I decided to write an alternate version of that episode.**

**P.S I'm watching the episode before that one, with Topanga and Auggie in the bakery with the evil, mean lawyer. Topanga finds/found herself again. :)**

**p.p.s... MINKUS!**

* * *

_Great. Career day. The same old day where students bring their parent to their classroom and they share what they do for a job. I know Mom isn't going to make it. Just like she did with my kindergarten play where I was a tree in the background. Small role, but at least I wasn't like Riley (a blue butterfly) and knocked some of the bees off the stage and accidentally throw Farkle into the little band section of the stage pit. That was a lot of blood. Or in fifth grade when I entered some writing contest for best fictional story and it won first place. She never makes it to anything I do, so why would career day be different? She's got some audition for a soap opera show and like the rest of those auditions; she'll blow it. Hence why she's a waitress at the HawkNight diner._

Maya shut her journal just as their art teacher came into the room with a fruit bowl in her hand, babbling about how the importance of art will bring intelligence into their youthful minds. Once they began the class Maya did her own thing, her own art piece. The only difference was that Riley wasn't there sitting next to her, drawing her pictures of Lucas in different ways.

Five minutes, while the art teacher wasn't looking, Riley came into the class and took her seat next to Maya. Smirking Maya said, "Well someone is late for the first time."

"No, well for good reason. My uncle is coming to town!" Riley cheered. "I haven't seen him in a while!"

"The one who slept on your couch for two weeks with that large pink monkey thing he won over at Coney Island, or the one who hates his birthday because he never gets a date. Even with the phrase of truth, 'It's my birthday!'" Maya asked.

"No, not Uncle Eric and not Uncle Josh." Riley answered.

"Or, so the one who looks like a monkey?"

"No, not Uncle Jeffery either." Riley said again. With a smile she said, "My Uncle Shawn!"

"Who?" Maya asked, now confused. "Who's Shawn?"

"He's my parents friend from their childhood. He's been out of town for a couple of years doing projects, but he's coming home and coming this Saturday night." Riley said. "He's gonna be on the couch for a while."

Shawn? Why didn't that name ring a bell for Maya? She knew her best friend inside and out, but Shawn never seemed to come into her head. The only person she knew that was a childhood friend of Mr. and Mrs. Matthews was some kid named Hunter. Hunter seemed like a cool, laid back kid and did his own free will. Almost like her to a point.

Riley than had a bulb hit her in the head. How did Maya not know Shawn? She never _met _Shawn before. The past several occasions they almost met, Maya always had a reason to go home and miss out on meeting Shawn. She smiled at Maya. "You are coming over this Saturday night before he arrives. You can meet him! My Dad says you remind him a lot about this friend of his."

"Oh great and than this Shawn guy and I can go get a smoothie at a local malt shop and talk over pizza." Maya replied with a sarcastic tone, obviously not excited or cared too much to meet someone new.

Riley, not seeing she was joking, replied, "I think Shawn likes fries and burgers..."

"Fine. I got nothing else to do." Maya said, finishing up her art piece just as the art teacher appeared over to the girls.

"Ms. Hart, this is pure intelligence!" The teacher cheered, clasping her hands together. Very pleased that Maya did her own thing and made it beautiful. "This is a masterpiece of art, an art that only a gifted talented artist has in their hands."

"I could be a better Ninja Turtle," Maya said.

"You best show this at the art show next Friday."

"I don't really share my art." Maya said, taking her piece of paper back. "It's my own thing for myself."

"I'd appreciate if you think about it, Maya." The art teacher simply said before leaving to check on the other students. Maya put her paper back on her board and added some more details to it while she sensed Riley peering over at the girls art.

"You are gifted Maya. Geeze, I wish I had a talent." She muttered, looking at her own piece of paper of Lucas Fruits.

"And I wish career day wasn't tomorrow." Maya said.

"She's going to come." Riley told Maya. She knew how Mrs. Hart always forget to do something when it came to Maya. "I know it."

_There's you talent, Matthews. Keeping yourself full of optimistic and hope whereas I only have two talents in my life. Giving as best as advise as I can in this world._

_And being invisible._

* * *

**So how was that? Good? Thank you! :)**


	2. The Project, The Apartment

**I apologize if Maya is a tad bit OCC in this story.**

* * *

After Maya and Riley went their different ways to their respected homes, Maya walked down the long street alone as the cold October streets touched her face and caused her to shiver in her warm sweater. She passed by the millions of strangers that filled The City with activity every single day and night, never causing one to sleep if they even tried with the help of sleeping pills prescribed to them.

Down a dark ally was Maya's shortcut to her apartment. It was one of those dark-like allys that you'd see in movies where the bad guys gang always hung out. But nobody stayed around this area so much, just as long as you weren't here around eleven at night. That was a different story. Maya passed by one of the abandoned brick buildings and stared at the art piece in front of her. It was street art, no doubt, in the style of two family portraits. Just the outlines of the heads, bodies and eyes were made, but the progress still looked good from Maya's eyes.

She wanted to stop and look some more, but she had to get home first before she could come back and continue her project.

Maya arrived at her apartment that had five floors. Hers was the second to top floor. Maya climbed up the fire escape to get to her bedroom window, as she didn't have a key to enter and her Mom never made a spear. If any of her friends were to come over, which was usually never as she made an excuse for them to not come over, she'd probably use her Moms and just be sure to stay home when her Mom arrived home around ten to get inside and sleep instantly on the couch.

Maya entered the one bedroom and one bathroom apartment, kicking most of the old newspapers around on the floor to make a path for herself to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, finding it bare empty, with only half a carton of milk left in the container. She grabbed that and drank from the carton before throwing it in the garbage bin and heading over to the counter to toss her backpack on the chair. A note was left on the counter for her.

_Mia,_

_Home late tonight. Going over to Chris' house tonight, left some takeout money on the counter for dinner._

_xoxo Mom._

Okay, sometimes invisible at home. At least she had some sort of name at home and wasn't someone who was completely forgotten all the time. She'd be home alone while her Mom was at her new boyfriends house for the night. She had met Chris once.

Red hair, grey eyes and glasses of Harry Potter.

Too busy to even order takeout Maya left the kitchen area and went down to her bedroom to gather some of her art supplies to work on her project. Maya entered her bedroom, the only neat and clean room of the apartment other than the bathroom, and grabbed some of her spray cans and tossed them in some artsy tote bag she made by splatting different, vibrant nail polish colors on them wildly. Once done she tied her hair up in a ponytail and got herself ready to leave again when her cell phone rang. Riley.

"Hey," Maya answered. "Kind of busy right now, call back later?"

_"But Lucas is coming over to help me with some French homework!"_

"You don't even take a language in the school."

_"I know! But at the end of art class I made a comment that you'd be a famous artist with me and we'd go to Paris and be French artist! So I looked at Lucas and said, 'Bonjour Lucas,' and he just replied something back to me in French and I had no idea what he was telling me. So I said, again, 'Bonjour Lucas!' so now he wanted to come over and help me start learning French. Oh and Auggie can speak French too! Did you hear that, Maya! Auggie too!"_

"But's its the language of love," Maya joked. "Just start repeating lines from that those Disney and Pixar movies, Belle and half the chefs in the kitchen, and you'll be fine. Au revior!"

_"But Auggie too! Oh and my Mom thinks she's Shakira! She was at the table and she started to—"_

_"Bye Riley."_

_"But—"_

Maya hung up before Riley said another word. It wasn't like her to hang up so fast and just sit there on the phone teasing Riley's love for Lucas, but she wanted to work on her project. She had an idea in mind to work on and needed to work on it fast.

**1.5**

An hour and a half later the facial expressions were finished. Maya, covered in black spray stuff in her hands, stood back a bit and looked at the project up and down, side to side, Nearly a quarter of it was done, or so she thought at least. She stopped to put some of her stuff away and start heading home for the night.

She heard what sounded like footsteps, so she ran. For a girl in boots she could run, now if only she had the will to do so in gym class.

She made it home just as the darkness took over the city of lights. Maya shut her bedroom window, locked it and pulled the blind down then drew the curtains.

She laid back on her bed, bored out of her mind. And she still had tomorrow for career day.

Great.

* * *

**Alright so here is the second chapter for the night. Might not post again until at least Monday or Tuesday. Until then...**

**FEENEY! FE-EH-EH-EH-EENEY!  
:)**


	3. Strangers on the Subway

**I apologize for almost a month of never uploading. I know where the story is going, but I had writers block for this chapter for that long. Luckily I've gotten back into the story and get going on it all over again.**

* * *

_Well just as I knew it. Mom didn't show up, forgetting like always. Probably an audition she won't get like always too. Mrs. Matthews came in and a couple of minutes later Farkles dad, Steward Minkus or whatever his name is, came in. I guess him and Mrs. Matthews were competitive when they were younger because they're both trying to say how their child is better than the other's child. Well it's a lot more entertaining than having to see another parent here and talking about their job._

_I just want to get out and head out to work on my project._

A couple of minutes later Maya and Riley left the class, but before so they had to lie and say how they both crushed on Farkle and wanted to be his future bride. "Rils I can't believe I just did that. I don't want to have little Farkles. I don't want to help produce more little Farkles or even a Minkus."

"Oh it can't be that bad!" The happy girl replied. "So you are still coming over Saturday, right?"

"Yeah about that, sleepover?" Maya asked. "My Mom is going to be out of town and since my imaginary friend decided to hit the road, I'd be alone."

"Oh sure." Maya smiled. "That's fun."

"Alright then." Maya said as she opened her locker. She put her hand inside and asked Riley, "Cotton Candy or Popcorn this time?"

* * *

School ended and a now happy Maya and Riley took the subway home as they talked about the day, most of which consisted of Riley drooling over Lucas and the incident at lunch where they both went to grab a chocolate pudding cup (the last one) and both offered it to the other. Maya listened but her mind was back on her art project.

Riley got off at her stop, leaving Maya another four stops before getting at her stops. She pulled out her CD players, the downside of not being from money, and played one of her Mom's old CD's. A Simple Plan CD. She had no idea who these guys were, to be honest, but liked their music and sometimes felt related too it. Most of their songs consisted of teenage type music dealing with bad things that happen.

"Kind of strange I can get some of these songs." Maya said to herself as the train stopped and opened its doors. She stepped off the train and brushed passed the people. She began running to get out of the crowd and ran into an older gentleman with a loud thud. "Darn!" Maya yelled as she got herself up. "Watch where your going. Haven't you been to New York before during rush hour?" Okay, this wasn't her but she just wanted to get home.

"Hey kid stop running. Whatever it is your running too it'll still be there." The guy said, holding his hand out and offering to help her up more. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Maya said, wiping down her shirt before hitching up her bag. "Later." She shifted passed him and ran up the stairs.

* * *

When Maya got home, to another note from her mother saying she'd be working late, Maya gathered her art supplies and went off to the empty alley to work on her project.

Complete Portion: Eye colors.

* * *

**FEENEY! FE-HE-HE-HE-EENEY!**


	4. Meet Subway Snail

**Sorry for the long update, again.**

**** So I read a little ahead of GMW on its own wiki page and apparently Shawn is gonna make an appearance 2 times! In a holiday episode and last episode (which he might interact with MAYA) :D hahahaha) ****

**Find The Joke: I threw in a little joke that Shawn says to Maya when they meet. Can you guess the joke is? (Hint: What we read before the show started, and what is on the show now).**

**_~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~_**

* * *

_I hadn't worked too much on my project for a while, my art project I meant. I was stuck trying to get homework done and keeping myself occupied at times. I met this guy who works at this Chinese place not too far from me and he said that at the end of the night he'd give me the leftover food they had made, instead of throwing out. Thus case I've eaten Chinese for the past few days...I hate it. At least tonight at Riley's place I can have actual food._

Maya shut her journal and checked her sleeping bag to make sure she had what she needed. Brush, toothbrush, pajamas, clothes for tomorrow and her art tools. She locked the door behind her and made her way to the subway to get to the Matthew's apartment.

She arrived there a half hour earlier than expected. She rang the bell and said she was here and was inside minutes later, then arriving to the door. She opened the door and saw Riley on the couch already. "Hey Rils,"

"Hey Maya. You're here early, Shawn isn't here yet." Riley stated. "My Mom's food is going to be done in an hour."

"It's not that gross green goop that moves, is it?" Maya asked. The last time she had slept over Riley's, Mrs. Matthews had made dinner and Maya refused to eat it after seeing it move. She swears to this day her food was moving on her plate. "Or is it the chicken that still breathes?" She asked as she tossed her bag to a nearby empty chair as she moved towards Riley. The time before green goop, Mrs. Matthews made chicken and, again, Maya Maya swore her chicken piece was still alive.

"Neither, Shawn's favorite pizza is Margarita but she's adding garlic and bacon for you." Riley explained. "He's going to be here in a half hour or so."

"Great," Maya said as she plopped herself on the couch. "Got any movies to watch? Mean Girls?"

"My Dad won't let me watch it. He says I have to be fifteen to see it."

"Which actually means...?"

"Fifty seven." Riley laughed.

A while passed for the girls, who ended up watching some weird movies on a TV channel about a pair of teenage twin boys with blue skin and yellow spots who find out their alien dolphins. Seriously, that's kind of weird. The doorbell run and a voice called it, "Cory!" though the voice sounded cheery.

Suddenly, out of no where, Cory jumped out from where the bedrooms are located, the entrance door, and yelled out "Shawnie!" and then rang to hit the button. "Shawnie come up! Doors-a-open!"

Maya turned to Riley and asked, "A Shawna?"

"No!" Riley grinned. "That's Shawn!"

Within a couple of minutes the door opened widely and in an instant two best friends ran into one another and hugged as if they hadn't seen one another for over a decade and looked as if they would never let go. Riley got up and jumped her way over there too, waiting to hug this Shawn guy Maya was meeting for the first time. Within minutes Topanga entered, holding Auggie, and made her way over to also hug Shawn. Maya stood up and looked over and studied this guys face. Why did he look familiar?

Once the Matthews finished hugging and greeting, Riley, who was facing Shawn (his back towards Maya), pointed over and said to him, "Shawn, this is my best friend Maya."

Shawn turned around and in a matter of seconds Maya recognized this face a tiny bit. This was the same brown haired bearded guy she had literally run into the subway the other day and knocked herself down. The same guy who told her to slow down, which she replied he should watch where she was going. "Hey, your the Slow Subway Snail."

"And you're the speedy fox," Shawn said. "Nice to meet you."

"Ditto, Beard Man." Maya said. "Riles, where's this Hunter guy?" She asked, looking passed Shawn and towards Riley. "I thought Hunter was coming. Your parents friend."

"That's me, Shawn Hunter." Shawn explained.

"Alright then." Maya said coolly, still little care in the world. "If you've been here for a few days, where you been?"

"Another friend." He answered.

"I think the pizza is almost ready." Topanga told everyone.

**_~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~_**

Maya remained silent pretty much throughout dinner. Usually she spoke a lot but this time she was silent and kept to herself while the adults talked about their lives and Riley and Auggie spoke about school. She had only spoken when turned too. She kept to her self at that. "School's boring and Mr. Matthew's history class is the strangest class I've been in."

"Maya is great at art." Riley mention, hoping they could get into that subject. "Shawn's a great photographer, Maya."

"I know, I heard it ten times already." Maya stated.

After dinner the girls hung out in Riley's room at her window bench area, just talking. Actually Riley was talking about Lucas for most of the time and mentioned having a dream that Lucas was at her window and they talked outside on the fire escape. Maya listened but her mind was elsewhere.

"You okay Maya?" Riley asked.

"Yeah just thinking." Maya said.

Later that night Maya sat outside of Riley's bedroom window and looked up at the stars thinking of her project. She wanted to work on it. It wasn't too far of a walk, much. Maya went back inside, put her shoes on and grabbed some of her art sets before leaving and going to her art project.

She arrived and saw there was little light shining, so she had to use what was available.

Completed Portion: Two hair colors.


	5. Strangers in the Pizza Palace

**Wow, I updated?**

* * *

Maya arrived back to the apartment just as Riley was waking up. She looked over at her window and saw Maya coming back in and noticed the art supplies too. Riley sat up and looked a bit perplexed by this scene.

"Maya did you sneak out?"

"Yep. I couldn't sleep so I went to get some art painting done. Whoever picks up last weeks newspapers will be pleased by the artist who made them." Maya said. "Just don't tell your parents. They'll tell my Mom and that's going to being up another argument between Mom and I."

"Your secret is safe with me." Riley said as she climbed out of bed.

There was a knock on the door. Riley said to open the door and within a second Cory slammed the door open; a face full of happiness written on his face. "WAFFLES!" he yelled before leaving and running to the kitchen.

"Guess my Mom made waffles for breakfast. That rarely happens." Riley said. "Come on."

"I'm just gonna wash my hands." Maya said.

The girls left the room but went opposite ways. Maya found the door shut and saw steam coming out of the bathroom. Nobody except Mr. Mathews, Mrs. Matthews and Riley showered and they were all in the kitchen currently; leaving Shawn Hunter as the only person left. Unless Auggie suddenly decided to stop taking bathes with his weird rubber duckies.

"Hey! Subway Snail!" Maya banged on the door. "Get out! I got to wash my hands!"

_"Five minutes, Fox!" _he called out.

"Subway Snail!" Maya yelled back before waiting outside against the wall and counted in her head. Five minutes passed and she heard the shower turn off and another three minutes passed before the bathroom was free. "Subway Snail."

"Hi Maya." Shawn said.

Maya gave a small wave as Shawn passed her. She got inside the bathroom and washed the paints off her hands.

Leaving the bathroom she, again, bumped into Shawn who was leaving from the Matthew's bedroom, now dressed for the day. They didn't crash into one another like the first time on the subway, but there was a thud sound to it. "Subway Snail." Maya said before walking around to head back into Riley's room and get dressed.

* * *

Hours later the girls were doing their nails and watching some movie on TV when Cory announced he and Shawn were heading out to get things done and catch up at one of the Matthew's favorite pizza places. Riley turned to Maya, "Wanna go get pizza?"

"Sure. I'm starving." Maya agreed.

"Hold up Dad! We're coming to get pizza with you and Shawn." Riley yelled over from the the chair she sat in. The girls stood up and jogged over to where the guys were and grabbing their jackets.

The four-some left for the pizza place and afterwards the girls made plans to walk around the city a little bit. Cory said it was fine as long as they both came home before the street lights turned on. They agreed.

At the pizza parlor, named Pete's Pizza Palace (a name Maya thought was lame) the girls sat at a booth while Cory and Shawn went up in line for the order.

"So what do you think of Shawn?" Riley asked.

"Oh, Subway Snail? He's alright." Maya answered with little care in her voice. "I mean he isn't like your uncle who woke up in the middle of the night last summer to howl at the moon because Auggie convinced him that because a coyote bit him, he was a werewolf. But he's alright. And how does that one Uncle of yours believe that was true?"

"Uncle Eric is his own character. But at least you like Shawn...though I can't really see too much of how you and him are alike as my Dad says."

"I've a feeling he's different than me. Much different." Maya said. "Hey, I'm going to the bathroom."

"Need a friend?"

"Oh come one I hate that stupid rule. It only works when it involves a mall and I saw like five Moms go in there just now with a million kids, I'm pretty sure nobody wants to mess with a Mom with a baby dangling off her chest." Riley laughed as Maya left for the bathroom.

Maya made her way to the bathroom and realized she would be in there for a long time as there had to be two dozen kids in that bathroom all waiting to take their turns. She shrugged and pulled out her CD player and started playing music with the headphones that hung around her neck. She lot herself in the music of Simple Plan that she almost didn't notice that the third stall was free for her to use. She went in, finished her business, washed her hands and began her way back to the table.

She got back to the table and saw that Mr. Matthew's had gotten plain cheese pizza for everyone. Everyone, minus her, had a drink too. "Hey they ran out of the regular soda you like, but I got you a water bottle." Cory held the bottle out.

"Thanks, but I drink soda with my pizza." She said. "I'll be back Riles."

Maya moved herself from the table and got into line. Nine people a head of her. Not too bad, she thought. She pulled her CD out again and began playing the current song that was on her CD. However her batteries died and she now had five people left in the front of her before she could get her drink. "Great." She muttered.

Someone came up behind Maya to also order food. They accidentally bumped into her and apologized. Maya turned to say it was fine and although she did she turned away rapidly. Now she wanted the line to hurry up. Only a minute passed and she felt like it was taking forever for the line to finish and hurry up from where she was standing. Another minute passed (though to Maya it was ten hours) and her head became very light. Her palms sweating, her mouth feeling so dry that she wished she carried that water bottle with her now. Her heart was racing too; faster than those cars in those race car track races when they do over a hundred laps in a row. The lights in the place looked as they were shining bright and bright by the second and making it impossible to even look around.

She felt like just passing out now.

"Hey kid, hurry up. You're next." The guy behind her said.

Maya didn't know it was her turn to order. She didn't even look ahead, just to the side like she had been for the passed few minutes.

"Kid, hurry up and make my job easier." The cash register kid said.

Maya walked out of line and turned back to the doors, avoiding eye contact with everything. Oh good gracious, her chest became tight as she jogged passed the table where Riley and the two guys sat. They watched her passed in a hurry, calling her name out in question. But Maya didn't hear them and instead just ran faster to the doors. To her, the place felt like it was getting smaller and smaller.

Finally she made it outside. One she was in the presence of fresh oxygen, Maya took a deep gasp of air. She coughed a few times as she let her chest and heart catch up on the body again and she came down. This had only happened one other time before; when she was eight years old.

"Maya?"

Maya turned and saw Riley standing there, her father and Shawn standing behind her.

"Hey Riles," Maya said as calmly as she could.

"Are you okay? You ran out of there like you've seen a ghost." Riley said.

"Yeah, a ghost." Maya said.

Cory took a glance inside again, being able to see everyone from the kids at the table to the guy now ordering at the cash register. He couldn't see anyone that he wanted too see. Good. Maybe. "Maya, was a certain person inside of there that made you uncomfortable?"

_Nobody you would know Mr. Matthews. _"No, this place is just super crowed." Maya said.

* * *

Later that night as Maya settled into bed she glanced out her window. She never thought she'd see _him_ again.


	6. The Alley, The Stranger, The Food

**Hello.**

* * *

Maya didn't work on her project during the weekend, she stayed in mostly. She rarely ever did that and it actually caused Riley to question her best friend of why she was staying inside during the amazing weather days of New York's October month. Maya didn't say anything other than, "Feeling sick to my stomach." and "It's probably a bug or a flu and I don't want to get your brother sick. I probably got it from Subway Snail."

October 15 Maya woke up, another boring school day, and saw a note from her Mom.

_Honey, gone to work early and then to see Harry then at BF's for the night. See you tomorrow._

Maya got ready for the day, not really prepared to go to school and didn't feel like going either. But leaving the house she took the twenty her mother left for her and then she took the route to Riley's house.

* * *

_Dear Journal_

_Well once again Mom isn't going to be home. She's at her boyfriends tonight after she meets her friend Harry. She's been seeing him for the past few weeks either before work or after work. She won't tell me who he is other than that he's a good friend of hers and they're really forming a great friendship. I miss Mom being around._

_She got me a pet ferret. I named her Ginger. She's adorable._

Maya shut her journal as history class began. Maya paid attention; meaning she looked ahead and gave her own opinions of rebel during class discussions with the occasional comments to Lucas and Farkle. As soon as class ended she stood up and left the class.

Riley tapped behind Maya. "Want to come over for dinner? My Mom said it was fine."

"Is Subway Snail there?"

"Shawn?"

"No, Subway Snail."

"Yes."

"I'll think about it."

"You don't like him?" Riley looked disappointed.

"Riles I don't hate the guy, but when you said that your Dad said I remind him of this guy I was literally expecting that. I see this successful photographer guy who, yes crashes on couches, but is making himself a good life. I don't see Maya in him." Maya explained. "Not to mention he didn't apologize for knocking me down on the subway."

"Did you apologize?"

"Riles he was being a Subway Snail." Maya told her. "It was rush hour."

"Fine, but I still think you should come over. He said he liked you a lot."

"Again I'll think about it." Maya told her.

* * *

When school ended and Maya got home she fed Ginger, actually tried some homework then left with her stuff to work on he project. She needed to find some way to reach the top of her project and make the backgrounds. Like a very tall ladder or even one of those window washing things that window washers stand on while cleaning.

She walked into this one store that she knew sold ladders. She walked to the manager and up to the guy who was speaking on the phone. When he finished he turned to Maya. "Yes?"

"Hey, I'm looking for a ladder to rent out."

The man laughed. "Rent? You mean buy?"

"Sure, I guess." Maya said. "What's the tallest you got?"

"Depends what its for, kid."

"Painting the side of a building. It's for a school project." She said.

"That'd be about eighty feet, but fresh out."

"Oh." Maya said. "Alright, see ya."

She left the store a little sad she couldn't get the ladder. She passed a TV store and saw on one of the front televisions showing some people in harnesses using them as they climbed up and down the cliffs. Something in Maya's head hit her an idea.

"Oh no...nope, no. Don't want too."

* * *

"Stupid harness." Maya scratched her side. She wasn't even close to finishing five bricks of her project and she had been at this for two hours now because her harness wasn't comfortable. "I bet the guy who painted that ceiling in Rome was glad to have a ladder. I wished I had that ladder."

Two more bricks finished and Maya decided to take the rest of the night off. She pulled herself up, hating how she felt like she was in gym class. She was going to have to take a whole Saturday to work on this project in order to complete it. She had a goal. Finish by the school year. She had from now until the end of May to finish. (She cared less starting June first and instead counted the days until the 15 when they got out of school).

Maya climbed down the side ladder of the building, leaving her harness-kit-tools up on the roof. Dangerous? That was Maya's middle name. At least it was better than her real middle name. Vivienne. Maya Vivienne Hart.

Maya got down from the ladder and began leaving when she heard the sound of footsteps. Just her imagination, right? Right. So why was she scared as she walked to leave the alley and felt like footsteps were coming up closer and closer? She was near the end of the alley. She felt her blood pumping hotter and hotter as she moved, her legs felt like jelly though. And those footsteps were coming closer and closer.

"Hey pretty girl," A creepy voice said. "You lost?"

Maya screamed and made a dash for it out of the alley. Out of the alley and back to the direction of her apartment, running faster and faster and as fast as her little legs could carry her. She knew whomever it was that they weren't following her, but what if he was? What if he was and he was just waiting for her to slow down and then grab her?

Maya made it to her apartment and ran inside, up the stairs, ran inside and slammed the door as she locked the door and chained the three chains on the door. She ran to each window and shut them, locking them. She was being dramatic as she lived on a high floor and this voice would have to fly to reach her windows. But being dramatic about the door wasn't.

After soothing herself down on her bed, her body stopped shaking, she cooled down and flopped on her bed. She was scared, who wouldn't? But now she was too scared to go back and finish her project. Maybe if she skipped a few days than that person think she's passed and she can return to her project.

Her phone buzzed.

_Hey, want to come over? There's lot of food here._

Riley.

She didn't have food in the fridge.

_Sure. I'll be over in an hour._

Maya scrounged around for five dollars. If she used that to take a cab to the Matthew's apartment, she'd be safe. And Mr. Matthews could always walk Maya home afterwards.

As she waited for the cab in the lobby of her apartment she couldn't help but be sad. She can't work on her project for a while.


End file.
